William Kentridge, Five Themes

from 29 June 2010

until 05 September 2010

Jeu de Paume, Paris

Featuring about 40 works in a range of media —including animated films, drawings, prints, theater models, sculptures, and books— "William Kentridge: Five Themes" is co-organized by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Curated by Mark Rosenthal, adjunct curator of modern art at the Norton Museum of Art, in close collaboration with the artist, the exhibition brings viewers up to date on the artist’s work over the past decade, exploring how his subject matter has evolved from the specific context of South Africa to more universal stories. In recent years, Kentridge has dramatically expanded both the scope of his projects (such as recent full-scale opera productions) and their thematic concerns, which now include his own studio practice, colonialism in Namibia and Ethiopia, and the cultural history of postrevolutionary Russia. His newer work is based on an intensive exploration of themes connected to his own life experience, as well as the political and social issues that most concern him.

Born in 1955 in Johannesburg, where he continues to live and work, Kentridge has earned international acclaim for his interdisciplinary practice, which often fuses drawing, film, and theater.
He first gained recognition in 1997, when his work was included in Documenta X in Kassel, Germany, and in the Johannesburg and Havana Biennials, which were followed by prominent solo exhibitions internationally.

"William Kentridge, Five Themes" is organized by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Norton Museum of Art. Generous support for the exhibition is provided by the Koret Foundation. Additional support is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Exhibition presented at Jeu de Paume, Paris,
from June 29 to September 05, 2010.
Neuflize Vie, global partner of Jeu de Paume,
supports "William Kentridge: Five Themes".